Sugarcane farmers in Karnataka demand payment of their dues

A large number of farmers staged an indefinite hunger strike near the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (SVS) here on Monday demanding payment of their dues.

"4,300 crores of rupees are lying in the sugar factories. The government doesn't wish to pay back our dues and for the last two years we are suffering from farmer suicides. We are worried," said the president of Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers' Association.

"The government is neglecting us. But we will continue to protest until [Chief Minister] Siddaramaiah responds to our woes. This is our constitutional right," he added.

The BJP and JD(S) have been criticizing the failure of the Congress-led Karnataka Government in ensuring that the sugar factories pay the farmers their dues.

 

The farmers' organisations have also been holding protests, demanding that the interests of the sugarcane growers be protected.